Limb-dominance and gender differences in the ground reaction force during single-leg lateral jump-landings.
Junya Aizawa, Kenji Hirohata, Shunsuke Ohji and 2 others
PMID 29581656WHAT IT FOUND
Females showed higher vertical and medial landing forces during sideways one-leg landings.
Medial forces were higher on the non-dominant leg, but vertical force did not differ by leg dominance. These are lab force differences, not proven injury risk.
Key findings
01During sideways one-leg landings, females had higher peak vertical and peak medial landing forces than males.
02Peak medial force and medial force at peak vertical force were higher in the non-dominant leg than in the dominant leg.
03Peak vertical force did not differ by leg dominance, but vertical force at peak medial force differed by leg dominance only in males.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 30 healthy young adults, and the authors' power calculation said 34 participants would be needed for 80% power for the primary limb-difference outcome. The authors said the small sample may have hindered detection of force differences. All participants landed from the same 25-cm step even though males were, on average, 15.5 cm taller, which may have made the task harder for females. The study measured forces only; it did not measure knee or hip angles, knee moments, or ACL strain, so it cannot show how these forces increase ACL injury risk. Dominant leg was defined only by kicking distance, and other definitions could change the dominance comparison. Participants crossed their arms under the opposite armpits, so results may not apply to normal landings with arm swing. No injuries were followed over time, so this is a lab comparison, not evidence that these force patterns predict ACL injury. Only 2 of 30 participants were left-leg dominant.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that females or the non-dominant leg are at higher ACL injury risk. The study measured landing forces in healthy young adults during a controlled sideways one-leg task, did not measure knee angles or ACL strain, and included only 30 participants with no injuries followed over time.